A Good Record.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 258, 6 May 1896, Page 2

A Good Record.

Q _ Mr J. H. Blackmore who will leave Feildiug on Friday next to return to his native county (Devon) in England, has had a notable carreer. On December Ist 1841, he enlisted in the 98th at Plymouth and on the 31st of same month, went with his Regiment to China, on the first expedition, where he landed July 21st, 1842, and was present, at the campaign under Sir Hugh Gough in 1842-43. Hg was made corporal in 1845. His regiment left China for India on July 21«t, 1845, and landed in Calcutta Novr. 2nd, from whence they marched to the frontier, then called the Sutlej, to assist during the campaign of 1845-46, during which Mr Blackmore was promoted to be a sergeant. After that ho was stationed at Meerut. The Punjaub campaign of 1848-49 having been decided on, his regiment took a prominent part in the operations. The regiment was for a time stationed at Peshawur until the Seweit Valley affair, under General Sir Charles Napier, in 1851. Mr Blackmore was present at the forcing of the Kohat Pas*, under that General, Sir Colin Campbell (the late Lord Clyde) being colonel of the regiment. In 1852 Mr Blackmore was one of those sent to England to represent his regiment at the funeral of the Duke of Wellington, with twelve other men, under Captain Smyth. He joined the depot at Chatham, and the Crimean war having broken out in ] 1854 he volunteered into the 38th Regi ment to proceed there. After the lauding at Gallipoli the regiment was marched to Varna, and then embarked for the Crimea. They landed at Eupatoria on September 14, 1854. Mr Blackmore was present at the great battles of Alma, Inkcrman, Balaclava, and the seige and evacuation of Sebastopol in 1856. Shortly after his return to Eng laud he was sent to the Curragh of Kildare, in Ireland, where he was stationed until the outbreak of the Indian mutiny, when ho volnnfceered into 98th Regiment, with which gallant corps he took his share in the suppression of the mutiny. He was again stationed at Peshawur until 1860 when he left for England to obtain his discharge which he did at Canterbury in 1861. Immediately afterwards he was appointed Government Instructor to the volunteers in Kent, under Major General Hume, Inspector of Volunteers, which position he held until 1874 when he came out to the settlement in New Zealand, known as the Manchester Block, where he helped in the new work of colonisation. As soon as the volunteer movement reached Feilding, Mr Blackmore took an active part in forming and disciplining the Manchester Rifles, to which corps he was appointed Color.-Sergt. and Drill Instructor and afterwards as Lieutenant. Major Noake and Lieut-Colonel Stapp, werethe officers commanding on this coast at that time. During his military career Mr Blackmore received the French Military medal for distinguished conduct in the field during the Crimean War, with the deplomas for the same. The China medal, the Sutlej. Punjaub, Crimean, Turkish, and Indian Mutiny medals.